A Brief, Intimate Interlude
by CheeZe89
Summary: This is, essentially, Chapter 12.5 of the main story "Threats to Peace." It is helpful to read this but not necessary to the main story. Smut is present so do take heed.


The _yōkai_ couple occupied themselves with exploring the other more intimately for much of the night. Both acknowledged that this was still odd ground to be on. After centuries of bitter rivalry, they were now closely engaged in a wholly different struggle. Their respective physical strength created a stalemate in the combat and prevented from gaining dominance over the other. This impasse only excited the pair more, pushing them to try harder to outlast the other.

Tōran lay breathing heavily, resting her head on Sesshōmaru's chest and stroking his ribs. Once again, his arm was curled around her and positioned right around her breast. She took comfort in his warmth before taking a deep breath. "They don't approve. My siblings, I mean. Probably more than your Tsukiyo. There'll be resistance tomorrow. But let me handle it and you won't need to do much."

Sesshōmaru looked down at her, as if waiting for more. When she said no more, he spoke. "So they wouldn't have asked about our bedroom affairs. That was your way of getting me to come along. You should deal honestly with me, Tōran, if we are to make this partnership work." As punishment, he squeezed and twisted her nipple. Tōran took a quick breath, arching her back in mixed pain and pleasure.

"It's how I am, Sesshōmaru," she said, relaxing slowly as he released his grip. Tōran wouldn't tell him how much she actually liked it when he did that. Sesshōmaru was cute when he got annoyed. Not when he frowned but when he was annoyed, there was a cute aloofness to him. "You knew this about me. Or should have, anyway."

Now his finger ran in circles around her nipple. That bastard! He was doing this deliberately to get her wanting more. Which she did but not yet. Tōran wanted to have some words with him while he was tired, candid and honest with her. So far, it seemed that he was more open to serious conversation after some nighttime exercises. "I suppose I suspected it wasn't entirely true. Though I believed your siblings obeyed you without question," Sesshōmaru replied.

Tōran laughed at that idea and her mate's naivety. "You… you're really horrible at this family stuff!" But that ignorance added to his charm in a strange way. And it meant he was still something she could mold and influence. A small voice in Tōran's head wondered if Sesshōmaru was thinking he could influence her too. If they became more like the other, then they'd get along even more and maybe they'd need to use that marriage addition which Sesshōmaru had added to the contract. Tōran would need to ask him about that one day. "We argue and fight all the time! Not like you and your brother but I'm not a dictator. After the last time," Tōran meant the last time the two of them had fought, "I declared myself Queen of the tribe. There was resistance but I have gotten them to accept that our former master belongs to history. This alliance between us will be something else they will accept. Our union is the only really unacceptable thing to my siblings. You, dear Sesshōmaru, are a powerful country bumpkin. Your lands are loosely governed and unorganized. As a mate, you don't actually bring much compared to some of the other demon lords. No army, no hoard of wealth, and certainly no clan connections." There wasn't really a delicate way to putting it and she hoped it didn't offend him. Then again, there was a chance this would puff up his already-oversized ego.

Sesshōmaru snorted. "The only real prize is me. My power alone makes up for the deficit in all the other areas."

"In my eyes, yes. Exactly. My siblings feel that there are … were better matches I could have made. And truthfully, some were tempting but one takes a mate for who they are, not what they have. None of the other options compared to you."

"We'll deal with it," Sesshōmaru told her off-handedly as if that was the solution to the problem worrying her. Maybe she _could_ learn something from him. Tōran propped herself up and kissed him on the lips. It was still a novel thing. She could touch him, smell him, and taste him all in that one action. And he let her do it.

"Something else has been bothering me," Tōran said as she broke the kiss. _Oh?_ His eyes asked the question. "I … I wondered what you thought about my breasts. You play with them a lot but … I know they're not very big compared to… others." She was anxious to know what he thought since no one else was able to judge her sex appeal. Only Sesshōmaru had first-hand experience of her body in coitus.

He raised his shoulder slightly while looking at her eyes. That action seemed so dismissive. "You are my mate. I accepted you for who you are. Why should other females matter?" Sesshōmaru said, like a parent educating a child.

Tōran blinked at the reply, trying dig through the words for his true meaning. Until she realized that there wasn't any deeper meaning. He didn't look at other demonesses as potential sexual conquests and would never have even thought about her in a sexual way if they weren't mated! She ought to have known that about him. Tōran giggled and licked her mate. "So, you're saying I'm the only one who satisfies you?"

"I suppose."

"You're mine, Sesshōmaru. All mine. No other demoness can have you. Now, satisfy me more!"


End file.
